Richmond, B.C. / May 15, 2017 – Today, the Vancouver Police Department is partnering with the Work Zone Safety Alliance and WorkSafeBC to kick off the seventh annual B.C. Cone Zone Campaign with an enforcement blitz at a roadside worksite on Burrard Street in Vancouver. Last year, one roadside worker died on the job and 21 were injured and missed time at work.

The B.C. Cone Zone Campaign coincides with the increase in roadside work throughout the province in the warmer months of the year. In the City of Vancouver, major road construction and repair projects will be as much as 25 percent greater than the same period in 2016.

Cone Zones are work areas set up by roadside workers to protect themselves and the driving public. Workers at risk include traffic-control persons, tow-truck operators, first responders and machine operators who work alongside or on roads in close proximity to traffic. Between 2007 and 2016, 15 roadside workers were killed and 229 were injured and missed time from work as a result of being hit by a motor vehicle.

“We want to remind drivers to slow down, pay attention to instructions from roadside workers, abide by temporary road signs and leave their phones alone,” says Trina Pollard, Manager of Industry and Labour Services, WorkSafeBC. “Every roadside worker deserves to make it home to their family at the end of their shift without injury.”

Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure the health and safety of their workers and are required to train and supervise their workers. Roadside workers can engage in safe work by: